Drake basketball fans react to departure of head coach Darian DeVries
Now, with DeVries leaving, fans like Dean Petty fear they could also lose his son Tucker, the team's leading scorer.
Now, with DeVries leaving, fans like Dean Petty fear they could also lose his son Tucker, the team's leading scorer.
Now, with DeVries leaving, fans like Dean Petty fear they could also lose his son Tucker, the team's leading scorer.
With Drake men's basketball coach Darian DeVries having officially accepted a new role as the West Virginia head coach next season, Drake fans are feeling both grateful and disappointed.
DeVries won at least 25 games in each of his last four seasons at Drake and over 70% of his games in his six years leading the team.
Drake basketball fan Guy Rimbey said DeVries' departure has left him wondering what could have been.
"I wish Darian would've given it one more year and taken all that talent he built up to get one more run in," he said.
DeVries now joins a growing list of coaches who built up successful basketball programs at Drake before moving on elsewhere.
Keno Davis left Drake for Providence and then Central Michigan after coaching one season from 2007 to 2008.
On the women's side, Iowa coach Lisa Bluder and Oklahoma coach Jennie Baranczyk are now leading their own programs after their tenures with the Bulldogs.
Now, with DeVries leaving, fans like Dean Petty fear they could also lose his son Tucker, the team's leading scorer.
"I hope his son does not go with him. I think he would benefit from staying at Drake," Petty said.
But Tom Florian, Drake's regional alumni board member, said he wasn't too surprised to hear about the change.
"If you look at it and anything in business — to make a move to grow in your career, to grow at the next level, it's time," he said.
Drake athletic director Brian Hardin said he's already moving quickly to find DeVries' successor.
However, he's also slowing down to make sure that the replacement is the right fit for the job.
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